


Promise

by ImperialKatwala



Series: We're Only Young [7]
Category: Minecraft (Video Game), Video Blogging RPF
Genre: Angst, But Dream is once again an excellent friend, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Friendship, Gen, Nightmares, Poor Techno does not have a good time, There's character death but it's not really real, This one hurts a little at the start not gonna lie
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-30
Updated: 2020-11-30
Packaged: 2021-03-09 18:22:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,461
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27790699
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ImperialKatwala/pseuds/ImperialKatwala
Summary: Even Technoblade isn't immune to nightmares. Luckily, he has someone to help him.
Relationships: Clay | Dream & Dave | Technoblade
Series: We're Only Young [7]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2021213
Comments: 54
Kudos: 854





	Promise

**Author's Note:**

> Just as a warning, there's some descriptions of blood and character death at the beginning! It isn't graphic, but if that makes you uncomfortable, you can just skip the italicized part. Techno summarizes it later on, so you don't have to worry about missing anything!

_Drip. Drip. Drip._

_Crimson flowing like a river between islands of bodies, death and destruction and pain, cities razed to the ground. Salt and ash choked the life from the very earth. All was broken, shattered, gone._

_And above it all he stood, laughing with the joy of it, his sword dripping red like the metal itself was bleeding._

_Drip. Drip. Drip._

_Figures approached him. A new challenge?_

_"Stop this," one pleaded, stepping forward with wings that rustled in agitation. "Please, stop, you don't have to go further."_

_The winged figure was unarmed._

_He ran him through anyway._

_The others screamed, they threatened, they sobbed. "How dare you, how could you," they cried, but it didn't mean anything. This is what he was always meant to do._

_Drip. Drip. Drip._

_He cut them down methodically, one after another, as they tried to fight or run or plead. Only one, the last of them, succeeded in blocking his attack, and he felt a flicker of admiration. Recognition. Like this was someone he should know._

_"You're no friend of mine," spat the figure from behind his mask. "No friend of mine would do this."_

_That mask. He knew that mask. White with a silly smiley face._

_Dream._

_It was as though a switch had flipped; that was_ Dream _he was fighting, and there -_

_He turned, heart in his throat, as it registered. That was Philza on the ground, eyes blank and empty of life. That was Wilbur beside him, and Tommy, and Tubbo, and a dozen other faces that he recognized, all of them dead by his hand. He took a trembling step backward._

_Dream made a choked, pained sound, and when he looked back, there was his sword in Dream's chest, surrounded by a growing pool of crimson._

_"This is your fault," Dream hissed - the words were poison, meant to burn, meant to hurt - then collapsed, forever unmoving._

_Drip. Drip. Drip._

_He screamed._

Techno sat bolt upright, chest heaving, hands clammy with sweat. His gaze darted around the room, frantically trying to figure out where he was and what had happened.

He relaxed slightly when he realized where he was; a bed in the corner of his tiny underground base near Pogtopia. No bodies in sight. He looked at his hands and let out a shaky, relieved breath when he saw there was no blood on them.

A nightmare, he realized. A bad one. He hadn't had one that bad for a long time.

His hands were shaking a little as he reached for his communicator and blindly opened a familiar contact.

[Technoblade]: _hey yuo akwke_

[Technoblade]: _relly hopin youre awakee_

The device buzzed softly and he almost sobbed in relief.

[Dream]: _I'm awake, why?_

[Dream]: _you're typing weird, is something wrong?_

Oh. Oh, no, no, no, he'd messaged _Dream._ Techno remembered with a sinking feeling that he'd been talking to both Dream and Philza before he went to sleep; he must have accidentally opened the wrong contact.

[Technoblade]: _no im fine srroy to boehtr you_

[Technoblade]: _messagon somwoen else sorry_

His hands were still shaking.

[Dream]: _you don't sound fine_

[Technoblade]: _its nothign_

[Technoblade]: _dotn worry about ti its not impaoetant_

[Dream]: _Techno are you in trouble?_

[Technoblade]: _no_

[Dream]: _where are you?_

[Technoblade]: _my base why_

In his still-rattled state, he didn't remember that giving a worried admin his location might not be the greatest idea until he heard someone splash down into his base. Techno flinched backward, ears flat against his head in alarm, as Dream stepped out of the small pool of water.

"Techno?" Dream's voice was the softest he'd ever heard it, like he was talking to a frightened animal.

What a sight he must be, he thought harshly; he was still shaking, he still hadn't gotten his breathing back under control, he was sweaty and scared and couldn't get the nightmare _out of his head -_

"Hey, look at me, it's okay."

When had he closed his eyes? He didn't want to open them again, not when Dream was right there, not when it meant acknowledging that he'd been terrified. Was still terrified.

"Tech, it's alright, you're safe." There was a dip on the side of the bed as Dream sat down, and Techno felt a hand carefully rest on his knee. "I'm guessing you had a nightmare?"

He nodded slightly, shame prickling down his spine. What would Dream think of him now, after seeing him this pathetic and useless and -

"Yeah, I get those too, sometimes. Had one a few nights ago, actually."

Techno dared to open his eyes just a little.

Dream wasn't even looking at him. He was looking across the room at the storage chests, and his tone was light and even. Calming. "It was about a manhunt where I got seriously hurt and the hunters didn't stop. It stopped being a game and turned into life or death. I don't remember if I won or not, but it wasn't pleasant."

"... Killed everyone," Techno whispered hoarsely, hugging his knees to his chest.

Dream's hand moved to his arm as he hummed in acknowledgement.

"I didn' recognize 'em," he continued, starting to shake even more. "They were jus'... jus' _shapes,_ an' everythin' was destroyed. Then they were all dead - _permanently_ dead, jus' layin' there - an' I was fightin' you an' I recognized you, an' then I recognized everyone _else_ an'..." He buried his face in his knees, trying not to cry. "An' I killed you too. Ev'rybody was dead an' I _enjoyed_ it before I knew who it was."

"Dreams are weird like that." How was he so calm? "You do things you'd never do and say things you'd never say."

"But what if -" The thought, half-formed, tore out of his mouth, leaving a heavy, jagged silence. He didn't know how to finish it. He didn't want to. It hurt too much to finish, because that would make the possibility real.

His friend was quiet for a moment. Then Techno heard the soft click of a latch and the sound of something being set down on the bed. "Tech. Look at me?"

Reluctantly, still afraid of judgment, Techno looked up. Then he instantly buried his face back in his knees because _no,_ that's not allowed, that's not allowed.

"It's okay," said Dream, who _wasn't wearing his mask,_ why did he take it off?? "I'm comfortable taking it off around friends, you definitely qualify. And I want you to know that I'm being honest."

"Didn't think you weren't," Techno mumbled, still refusing to look.

Dream sighed, the sound somewhere between fondness and exasperation. "It's _my_ face, Techno, you're allowed to look at it if I'm showing it to you."

Techno shook his head. "Nope."

"Fine, fine. We'll do it this way, then." Dream took Techno's hand and very carefully guided it to rest against his own chest. "What do you feel?"

"... Heartbeat," Techno said after a moment, focusing on the sure, steady rhythm. He could also feel Dream's chest rising and falling as he inhaled and exhaled, and he got the feeling it was being exaggerated slightly for his benefit. "Breathin'."

Dream chuckled, and he felt that too, rumbling against his palm. "Yeah. I'm okay, I'm not dead, and no one else is dead either. And if anything ever happens, I'm a lot stronger than you. Perks of being an admin. I'll stop it."

"Promise?" Techno asked, finally daring to glance up.

Bright green eyes, full of light and life - not dead, not like Phil's had been, they still had a spark in them, he was okay - looked back at him, and Dream smiled. "Promise."

Techno nodded slowly and let himself start to relax. Dream was in charge of the server; he would never let things go too far, would never let Techno obliterate everything. He trusted Dream's promises.

Dream's smile widened. "C'mere." He pulled Techno into a hug, which was returned gratefully.

It felt _so good_ to have something solid to cling to, someone who cared enough to be here, and a friend who knew how to calm him down. His hands finally stopped shaking as the tension drained out of him. The adrenaline spike was wearing off now, and he had to fight back a yawn as the tiredness began to set in.

"Go back to sleep," Dream murmured.

Techno's grip tightened. He didn't want to be alone right now, he didn't want Dream to leave. "Stay?"

Dream stilled for a moment, like the request had startled him, but then he laughed softly and nodded. "Yeah. I'll stay."

As he drifted off, Techno closed his eyes again and just listened. Dream's heartbeat was slow and calm; no danger, it seemed to say, not here, not now. It's okay. You're okay.

He believed it.

**Author's Note:**

> We love Dream recognizing that his friend is NOT comfortable with how vulnerable he is and making himself vulnerable too to make Techno feel better :')


End file.
